The college basketball season is officially upon us! The University of Baylor took home the championship last March and now two historical teams get ready for the new season. The University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Duke Blue Devils face off in the Champions Classic to open up the season. It's time to continue our college basketball odds with a Kentucky-Duke prediction and pick based on Kentucky Duke odds.
Kentucky is ranked No. 10 and Duke No. 9 for Tuesday night's matchup. These two universities are some of the best of the last decade, consistently winning. Both of them come into the season ranked in the top 10. That is usually the case as these two teams dominate their respective conferences year in and year out. Duke is at the top of the ACC to start the year and Kentucky leads the SEC to begin.
Here is how the bookmakers set the Kentucky-Duke lines for Tuesday night.
College Basketball Odds: Kentucky-Duke Odds
Kentucky: +1.5 (-115)
Duke: -1.5 (-105)
Over: 148.5 (-110)
Under: 148.5 (-110)
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Why Kentucky Could Cover The Spread
Kentucky has the No. 10 overall recruit class in 2021. They also received a good amount of solid transfers as well, which should really benefit this team. Head coach John Calipari should be ecstatic that he gets to coach another solid roster for this season. They landed top recruit TyTy Washington who is the No. 4 overall point guard in the nation, as well as Daimion Collins who is the No. 4 overall power forward in the nation.
One crucial player who is returning to the team is Davion Mintz, who led the team in many categories last year. His presence will be huge for this team that is seeing a bunch of new faces. They could cover the spread if Mintz continues his run from last season. He will likely be their leader and should put them in positions to be successful. Playing against a top recruiting class like Duke won't be easy. Duke has a lot of young freshmen that are quick and lengthy. It's going to come down to who can defend the best because everyone on the court is a potential NBA player in the near future. Each of these players going head to head on Tuesday can score. It's going to come down to who defends the best and takes advantage of the other team's mistakes.
Why Duke Could Cover The Spread
Duke finished the offseason with the No. 2 overall recruiting class. This comes as no surprise as Duke is one of the premier organizations in all of college sports. This will be the final season for coach Mike Krzyzewski as he is set to retire at the end of the season. It's been a remarkable campaign for him and the players are surely going to try and win the NCAA Tournament in his honor. As for the game against Kentucky, Duke could cover the spread by sticking to their roots with quick and fast play from their guards. Guards Jaylen Blakes and Trevor Keels should lead the backcourt for the Blue Devils this year. Blakes is a 4-star recruit whereas Keels is a 5-star. These two freshmen should quickly lead the team early on in the season. Duke also has two other 5-star freshmen coming in as well. Top-5 recruit Paolo Banchero could become the top players in the entire nation and A.J. Griffin is also a name to keep an eye out for.
This is a very good class for Duke and they should be able to play against anyone. It's tough to see how they will play with each other as we haven't seen them play together yet.
Final Kentucky-Duke Prediction & Pick
Both of these teams should make it far into the season. It's difficult to determine how they will play in their first game. So I am going to stick with who is favored in this matchup. Duke has the slight edge and has the better recruit class, so I'm taking Duke -1.5 for Tuesday night.
Final Kentucky-Duke Pick: Duke -1.5 (-105)
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